Wisdom 2:23–3:9

God formed man to be imperishable;
the image of his own nature he made them.
But by the envy of the Devil, death entered the world,
and they who are in his possession experience it.

But the souls of the just are in the hand of God,
and no torment shall touch them.
They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead;
and their passing away was thought an affliction
and their going forth from us, utter destruction.
But they are in peace.
For if before men, indeed, they be punished,
yet is their hope full of immortality;
Chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed,
because God tried them
and found them worthy of himself.
As gold in the furnace, he proved them,
and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself.
In the time of their visitation they shall shine,
and shall dart about as sparks through stubble;
They shall judge nations and rule over peoples,
and the Lord shall be their King forever.
Those who trust in him shall understand truth,
and the faithful shall abide with him in love:
Because grace and mercy are with his holy ones,
and his care is with his elect.

_______________________________________________

This is a passage from the Old Testament that we often use at funerals.  In fact, I was at the funeral of the father of one of my priest friends today and this reading from Wisdom was read. 

I think it is a message of great hope.  It begins by saying that we were formed in God’s own image – imperishable.  In other words, once we are conceived, we live forever.  But death has come into the world.  The question is, “Where are we going to spend eternity?” 

At funerals, I find the next words so comforting. 

“But the souls of the just are in the hand of God,
and no torment shall touch them.
They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead;
and their passing away was thought an affliction
and their going forth from us, utter destruction.
But they are in peace.”

If we are just in this life, if we trust in the Lord with our whole being, if we are faithful and abide in love, the Lord, in His grace and mercy, will keep us close to Him.

I remember the day we buried my Mom over 11 years ago (by the way, November 13th would be her 69th birthday), my faith was truly tested.  I saw her body going into the ground and I did not see her spirit rising to heaven.  I had to ask myself, “Do I truly believe in this resurrection from the dead?”

And then I read this passage.  “They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead; and their passing away was thought an affliction and their going forth from us, utter destruction.  But they are in peace.” 

My mother was a just woman who was faithful to the Lord and trusted in Jesus’ love and mercy.  I believe that she is in peace, resting in the loving arms of God.  She was tried in this life as gold tested in fire, and I believe she was ready to meet the Lord.

Take some time reading this Scripture.  If you have lost a loved one, let these comforting words wash over you.  May we trust in the incredible love and mercy of Jesus Christ.  And if we are not ready today to die, may we start putting our lives in order…for the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

God bless,

Fr. Burke

http://frburke23.wordpress.com

Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12

The angel brought me
back to the entrance of the temple,
and I saw water flowing out
from beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east,
for the façade of the temple was toward the east;
the water flowed down from the southern side of the temple,
south of the altar.
He led me outside by the north gate,
and around to the outer gate facing the east,
where I saw water trickling from the southern side.
He said to me,
“This water flows into the eastern district down upon the Arabah,
and empties into the sea, the salt waters, which it makes fresh.
Wherever the river flows,
every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live,
and there shall be abundant fish,
for wherever this water comes the sea shall be made fresh.
Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of every kind shall grow;
their leaves shall not fade, nor their fruit fail.
Every month they shall bear fresh fruit,
for they shall be watered by the flow from the sanctuary.
Their fruit shall serve for food, and their leaves for medicine.”

___________________________________________

I love this image from Ezekiel of the fruit trees planted along the bank of the river.  Their leaves never fade.   They produce abundant fruit without fail.  Their every need is provided for by the water from the river.

The analogy is obvious.  The river is Jesus, who gives us living water.  The trees planted on the bank of the river are those faithful ones who remain connected to the Lord in prayer, faith and every good work.  They drink from the streams of living water by reading the Word of God and meditating on it.  They love of God is poured into their hearts, souls, into their very veins so that it pours out upon others.

As St. Paul says, “The love of God impels me…”  Those who are connected to Jesus cannot hold in the love and mercy they have received from God.

It sounds like the analogy of the vine and the branches.  “I am the vine and you are the branches,” says Jesus.  We stay grafted on the vine through faith, prayer and love in action.

How do we fall away from the life-giving waters?  Sin separates us from God.  Apathy moves us away from God.  It is a slow fade that we don’t always realize.  As I’ve said before, there is no neutral in the spiritual life.  We are either moving toward God or away from God.  Moving away from the Church and the community of believers also is not good.  We were made to come together to worship God and support one another in faith.  The evil one is always trying to isolate us – divide and conquer.

Where are you?  Are you planted beside the life-giving waters?  Are you bearing good fruit?  Or have you moved away from God, either willingly or unwillingly?  Have you felt the dryness and aridity of being away from God?  Not always are we away from God when we feel dryness.  Sometimes the Lord uses this to purify our hearts.  But in general we can sense if we are living according to the ways of God or not.

Let us take time today to move closer to our God.  He never moves.  It is up to us to allow our roots to go deep and to drink of the life-giving waters that God freely offers us.

God bless,

Fr. Burke

http://frburke23.wordpress.com

Romans 15:14-21

I myself am convinced about you, my brothers and sisters,
that you yourselves are full of goodness,
filled with all knowledge, and able to admonish one another.
But I have written to you rather boldly in some respects to remind you,
because of the grace given me by God
to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles
in performing the priestly service of the Gospel of God,
so that the offering up of the Gentiles may be acceptable,
sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to boast in what pertains to God.
For I will not dare to speak of anything
except what Christ has accomplished through me
to lead the Gentiles to obedience by word and deed,
by the power of signs and wonders,
by the power of the Spirit of God,
so that from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum
I have finished preaching the Gospel of Christ.
Thus I aspire to proclaim the Gospel
not where Christ has already been named,
so that I do not build on another’s foundation,
but as it is written:

Those who have never been told of him shall see,
and those who have never heard of him shall understand.

__________________________________________________

In this letter to the Romans, Paul is encouraging them to continue in their goodness of heart.  However, he is also calling them to remain humble in their service of the Gospel. 

It seems as though the Roman converts to Christianity were becoming boastful in their own abilities and talents.  The words that really struck me as I was reading this Gospel today are:

“In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to boast in what pertains to God.
For I will not dare to speak of anything
except what Christ has accomplished through me…”

How many times a day do we desire attention for what we have done?  How often do we seek the praise of co-workers?  How often do we boast of our talents?  What is it in me that seeks this attention?

Paul is reminding us today to boast only on “what pertains to God”.  He chooses only to speak of Christ and what Christ has accomplished in him.  This is humility, a wonderful virtue that is very difficult to develop.

How often do we seek to give the honor and glory to God?  Do we give the Lord thanks and praise every day for the simple things in life and the great miracles that happen?  Do we realize that everything we have comes from God?

If all of this is true, then humility is realizing that God is the source of everything and therefore I should only boast in God.  So today let us stop and pause when we desire the attention and the glory.  Let us not get jealous when someone else gets a promotion or is given an accolade. 

May we give thanks to the Lord always and speak only of what He has done in our lives.  People do not like to be around those who brag about their talents.  But people are attracted to humility, because humility comes from God.

Have a blessed day!
Fr. Burke

http://frburke23.wordpress.com

 

Luke 15:1-10

The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus,
but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying,
“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
So Jesus addressed this parable to them.
“What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them
would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert
and go after the lost one until he finds it?
And when he does find it,
he sets it on his shoulders with great joy
and, upon his arrival home,
he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them,
‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’
I tell you, in just the same way
there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents
than over ninety-nine righteous people
who have no need of repentance.

“Or what woman having ten coins and losing one
would not light a lamp and sweep the house,
searching carefully until she finds it?
And when she does find it,
she calls together her friends and neighbors
and says to them,
‘Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.’
In just the same way, I tell you,
there will be rejoicing among the angels of God
over one sinner who repents.”

___________________________________________________________

The self-righteous Pharisees and scribes would not be caught dead with the “sinners” and so they were appalled that Jesus would hang out with such people.  Yet that is why Jesus came – not for the healthy, but for those who were sick (spiritually and physically).  The Pharisees and scribes were not able to recognize themselves as part of this group called “sinners”.  Sometimes we fall into that trap as well.  We recognize the sins of others, but don’t want to see the sins in ourselves.

But more importantly in this Gospel, we see the amazing love and mercy of Jesus Christ.  He tells us that He seeks us out when we stray.  AND the angels and saints in heaven rejoice when we turn back to Him asking for forgiveness. 

He tells the parable of how the shepherd leaves the 99 to search for the one sheep that was lost.  That is how important we are to Jesus.  He is willing to leave everyone else just to seek for you and for me.  Wow!  And when He finds us or when we turn to Him in humility seeking forgiveness, there is great joy in heaven.

The evil one does not want us to turn to the Lord for mercy because he knows how powerful God’s mercy is.  In fact, the evil one wants us to think that we are not worthy of God’s mercy after what we have done.  He wants us to feel shame, guilt and despair.  Yet always keep in mind that Jesus wants us to turn to Him because He is always waiting with open arms.  And where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more!

I see God’s grace so alive in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  I see people who enter the confessional feeling shame and disgrace.  Even their bodies show that they are carrying a heavy burden.  As they name their sins and then hear the Lord’s forgiveness, I see them change physically and spiritually.  They feel a heavy burden has been lifted and they walk out full of joy.  “Come to me all who are burdened and I will give you rest.  My yoke is easy and my burden light.”

I often quote this Gospel reading during the confession.  There is “more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than for 99 righteous people who have no need of repentance.”  This is most true when someone has been away from the Lord for years and years.  The Lord rejoices when we come back to Him. 

Often during this time between Easter and Christmas we get lax in our spiritual practices.  Are you burdened with sin?  Maybe making a good confession is what you need…  The Lord awaits us with arms open wide…  And the angels and saints are ready to celebrate our homecoming…

Have a great day!
Fr. Burke

http://frburke23.wordpress.com

Romans 13:8-10

Brothers and sisters:
Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another;
for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
The commandments, You shall not commit adultery;
you shall not kill;
you shall not steal;
you shall not covet,
and whatever other commandment there may be,
are summed up in this saying, namely,
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Love does no evil to the neighbor;
hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.

Gospel
Luke 14:25-33

Great crowds were traveling with Jesus,
and he turned and addressed them,
“If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother,
wife and children, brothers and sisters,
and even his own life,
he cannot be my disciple.
Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me
cannot be my disciple.
Which of you wishing to construct a tower
does not first sit down and calculate the cost
to see if there is enough for its completion?
Otherwise, after laying the foundation
and finding himself unable to finish the work
the onlookers should laugh at him and say,
‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’
Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down
and decide whether with ten thousand troops
he can successfully oppose another king
advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops?
But if not, while he is still far away,
he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms.
In the same way,
everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions
cannot be my disciple.”
__________________________________________________________
I don’t always use two readings for the day, but I wanted to look at the these two together.  The first reading from Romans talks about LOVE as being the fulfillment of the law.  And if we study the 10 Commandments, we see that the first three talk about our love for God and the last seven talk about our love for neighbor.  And when Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment, He responded by saying, “Love the Lord your God with your whole heart mind and soul, and love your neighbor as yourself.”  So love is key.

Then as we read the Gospel, we see that Jesus says we must “hate” our father, mother, brothers, sisters, even our own life.  How can we put “love” and “hate” together?  Well, I certainly don’t believe that Jesus is calling to hate our family.  That goes against everything else He taught.  But I believe He is trying to say is He should be first in our lives.   Jesus Christ must be our #1 priority in life, above our family, even above our own life.  And when He is the center of our life, all of our other relationships will be put into right order.  That is why marriages and friendships that are based in Jesus Christ last forever, because they are in right order.  But if the relationship is based on selfish interest or simply on a physical attraction, the relationship will not last.

Then Jesus tells a couple of stories about people planning in advance for what is about to come.  He basically is saying that it is silly to go about a task without looking ahead at the costs.  The same is true for our life as disciples of Jesus Christ.  There is a cost to discipleship.  What are the costs?  Sometimes we have to carry a heavy cross.  Sometimes we may lose friendships or even family relationships for our decision to follow Christ.  Sometimes we have to deny ourselves of selfish pleasures to follow Christ.

But I don’t want to pain a bleak picture of discipleship, because the rewards are incredible – eternal life, peace and joy, solid relationships, faith, hope and love…  The list goes on and on.  I used to think that following Jesus would be boring.  The exact opposite is true.  Placing Jesus Christ at the center of my life has been the most incredible joy of my life.

So let us take time today to reflect on two questions:

1)  Am I a person that makes love a priority in my life?

2)  Is Jesus Christ the center of my life and am I willing to pay the price of discipleship?

Have a blessed day!
Fr. Burke

http://frburke23.wordpress.com

John 6:37-40

Jesus said to the crowds:
“Everything that the Father gives me will come to me,
and I will not reject anyone who comes to me,
because I came down from heaven not to do my own will
but the will of the one who sent me.
And this is the will of the one who sent me,
that I should not lose anything of what he gave me,
but that I should raise it on the last day.
For this is the will of my Father,
that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him
may have eternal life,
and I shall raise him on the last day.”

__________________________________________________

Yesterday we celebrated All Saints Day – all of the men and women who are with God in heaven.  Today we celebrate All Souls Day – we remember all who have died and gone before us in faith.  In St. Mary’s in West Chicago, where I was for 4 years, we would have people bring pictures of their loved ones who have died and place them before the altar during the month of November.  It is a beautiful remembrance of our connection with those who have died.

In Catholic theology we believe that at baptism we are justified and we become sons and daughters of God.  Our entire life is to be spent in a process of sanctification – growing in holiness so that we can live with God for all eternity.  Saints are just sinners who fall down and get back up and keep going.  No one that walks the earth today is perfect.  Therefore Jesus gave the Church the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist to help us in this sanctification process on a daily basis.

When we sin, we turn to the Lord for His mercy and the priest, as a minister of God’s grace, grants us absolution and forgiveness in the name of Jesus Christ.  And we have the opportunity to receive the Body and Blood of Christ in order to grow in communion with our Lord.

Salvation occurs when we die.  We believe that salvation is not a one-time acceptance of Jesus Christ, but a daily commitment to Christ every day.  St. Paul says, “I have run the race and kept the faith…”  Life is a marathon and we are called to run this race with faith in Christ and to put our faith into practice with charity.

As we read in this Gospel today, Jesus wants to save all of us.  If we have faith in Him and stand by Him, He will raise us on the last day. 

So let us remember all of our loved ones who have gone before us in faith.  We trust in God’s mercy that they are with Jesus for all eternity.  And let us pray for ourselves, that we too may spend eternity in the presence of Christ forever.  That is the goal of all us.  May we recommit our lives today to following the Lord with our very being.

Have a blessed day!
Fr. Burke

http://frburke23.wordpress.com

Luke 14:1-6

On a sabbath Jesus went to dine
at the home of one of the leading Pharisees,
and the people there were observing him carefully.
In front of him there was a man suffering from dropsy.
Jesus spoke to the scholars of the law and Pharisees in reply, asking,
“Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath or not?”
But they kept silent; so he took the man and,
after he had healed him, dismissed him.
Then he said to them  
“Who among you, if your son or ox falls into a cistern,
would not immediately pull him out on the sabbath day?”
But they were unable to answer his question.

_____________________________________________

I have just returned from visiting our seminarians in Minnesota and Indiana.  I am back home watching the World Series.  I am a life-long Phillies fan so I have a vested interested again this year.

As we read this story today of Jesus curing the man with dropsy at a dinner party with the Pharisees, it seems odd to us that anyone would be upset that He would heal the man.  However, some of the Pharisees had gone too far in their interpretation of the law to say that NOTHING should be done on the Sabbath, not even healing.

Jesus makes their position seem ridiculous.  Any loving father would save or heal his son or even his ox if it were in trouble – whether it was the Sabbath or not.

What can we learn from this story?  First of all, Jesus always wants to love us and heal us, no matter what the circumstance.  Our God loves us as a loving Father, with a heart of compassion and mercy always.  Secondly, we can not get lost in the law and lose sight of love and mercy.  We can follow the letter of the law perfectly, but if we have no love, we are missing the whole point.  Jesus came to show us the love of God in so many ways. 

God is not a bunch of rules.  God is not a system of morality.  God revealed Himself to us in the PERSON of Jesus, who loves us and wants to save us.  It is all about RELATIONSHIP!  May we be people of love and mercy, always seeking relationship over rules.

Have a blessed weekend,

Fr. Burke

http://frburke23.wordpress.com

 

Romans 7:18-25a

Brothers and sisters:
I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh.
The willing is ready at hand, but doing the good is not.
For I do not do the good I want,
but I do the evil I do not want.
Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it,
but sin that dwells in me.
So, then, I discover the principle
that when I want to do right, evil is at hand.
For I take delight in the law of God, in my inner self,
but I see in my members another principle
at war with the law of my mind,
taking me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.
Miserable one that I am!
Who will deliver me from this mortal body?
Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
__________________________________________________________

St. Paul was influenced by the dualism of his time.  Strict dualists said that the body is evil and the spirit is good.  St. Paul, although not a strict dualist, was influenced by this thought.  You can see in this passage hints of this thinking:  “I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh…”  He goes on to say that he does the things he doesn’t want to do and doesn’t do the things that he wants to do.  We all have experienced this tension, haven’t we?

What is this?  Some say it is the result of original sin, in which we have a tendency toward sin (concupiscence).  Whatever it is, we all have experienced a desire to do something that is immoral and not good.  And we all struggle at times to be loving and good when the situation is difficult.  How do we handle this in light of the Scriptures?

God created us, man and woman, in His image and likeness and saw that it was GOOD.  So we believe that we are embodied spirits and both our body and spirit is good.   Our bodies definitely impact who we are and how we act.  We cannot easily separate our bodies and say they are bad and our spirit is good.

What we need to do is train our intellect and will, the motivating principles in our being, to move us toward doing the good.  How do we do this?   First of all, to train the intellect, we need to study.  We need to know our faith, the Scriptures and the catechism to understand what is GOOD.  The more we know the good, the more we can move toward the good with our intellect.  But that is not all.

We need also to train our will, which moves our being toward the GOOD.  How do we do this?  We learn to train the will by not always giving in to simple temptations.  That is why we fast periodically throughout the year or maybe regularly.  If I can deprive myself of an extra cookie and do that consistently, I am more able to deny more delectable temptations when they come my way.  If we are faithful in small things, the Lord will give us greater things.

So let us take time to learn about God, about our faith, about what is right from wrong.  Then let us practice self-discipline.  This can happen in so many ways in order to train the will.  Do it by fasting.  Do it by denying yourself of some of the pleasures that we become accustomed to.  The more we train the intellect and will, the more we will experience the true JOY that comes we are truly in tune with the Lord. 

We are going to experience Paul’s struggle of doing what we do not want to do.  However, like good athletes who practice their sport regularly so that they can perform when under pressure, we need to practice our faith so that we can resist temptation during difficult times and that we can be loving in all situations.

Have a great weekend!

Fr. Burke

http://frburke23.wordpress.com

Hello friend,

It is that time of year again for the Vocations Raffle.  This year there is a second option for those who want to help, but don’t want to participate in the raffle. 

Option 1:  The Illinois State Council of the Knights of Columbus is having its annual Vocations Raffle.  Tickets are $1 each.  The proceeds will go toward helping seminarians all over the state of Illinois.  Following are the prizes:

1st prize: $10,000

2nd prize: $2,500

3rd-6th prize: $1000

7th-10th prize: $500

11th-15th prize: $250

16th-20th prize: $100

The drawing will be held January 9, 2010, but the tickets must be in by January 2, 2010.   In 1997 someone that I sold a ticket to won $1000!

If you would like to purchase tickets, please send checks to the address at the bottom of this note made payable to:

Illinois State Council K of C Charities Inc.

I will mail the tickets to you.  If you have return address stickers that I can put on your tickets that would be very helpful.  Also, if you can include a self-addressed stamped envelope, that would help me a great deal.

Option 2:  If you would like to make a donation directly to the Diocese of Joliet Vocation Office without participating in the raffle, you can do that as well.  This type of donation is tax deductible for which I can send you a letter.  These funds will help our Joliet seminarians attend World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid, Spain.

If you would like to make a donation to the Vocations Office and not participate in the raffle, please make checks payable to:

Diocese of Joliet Vocation Office

Thank you in advance for helping support vocations!

Have a great day!
fr. Burke

 ————————————————————————

Fr. Burke, I’d like to help the seminarians in the following way:

________  I’d like to buy raffle tickets.  I understand that I will not receive a letter for a tax deduction.  Make checks payable to Illinois State Council K of C Charities Inc.

________  I’d like to make a donation to the Diocese of Joliet Vocation Office.  I will receive a letter for a tax deduction.  Make checks payable to Diocese of Joliet Vocation Office.

You can mail checks to me at:

Fr. Burke Masters

Diocese of Joliet Vocation Office

402 S. Independence Blvd.

Romeoville, IL 60446

Luke 12:39-48

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Be sure of this:
if the master of the house had known the hour
when the thief was coming,
he would not have let his house be broken into.
You also must be prepared,
for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”

Then Peter said,
“Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?”
And the Lord replied,
“Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward
whom the master will put in charge of his servants
to distribute the food allowance at the proper time?
Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so.
Truly, I say to you, he will put him
in charge of all his property.
But if that servant says to himself,
‘My master is delayed in coming,’
and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants,
to eat and drink and get drunk,
then that servant’s master will come
on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour
and will punish the servant severely
and assign him a place with the unfaithful.
That servant who knew his master’s will
but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will
shall be beaten severely;
and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will
but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating
shall be beaten only lightly.
Much will be required of the person entrusted with much,
and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”

____________________________________________________________

This parable for Wednesday has much the same theme as Tuesday – “be prepared”.  But what I would like to look at a little closer is the last sentence:

“Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”

Are you a person that has been blessed with many gifts and talents?  If so, give thanks to God for everything.  Along with these gifts and talents comes responsibility.  We are called to use them to build up the Kingdom of God by serving, helping, teaching, supporting, etc.  If we don’t use these gifts and talents, Jesus says that they will be taken away from us and given to someone who will use them for the right purposes.

My friends, all that we have comes from God.  The question is: Are we good stewards of these gifts?  We can’t take any of it with us.  We shouldn’t store up treasure on earth just for safe keeping.  I’m not saying that we shouldn’t provide for our future, but if it keeps us from helping others, then we need to look at our motivation.  All that we are given is meant for the good of all.  That is why God has gifted us all in different ways.  When we come together as the Body of Christ, using the special gifts that God has given us, it is a beautiful thing.

I love to see people like Pope John Paul II who was a gifted athlete, an actor and a brilliant student – he used all of these gifts to bring people closer to Jesus Christ.  The twelve apostles were men with very different gifts and talents.   God used this eclectic collection of men to spread the Good News around the world.

You may say, “I don’t have any incredible gifts like John Paul II or the apostles”.  Few people have extraordinary gifts.  But each one of us has special unique gifts that the Lord has given only to us.  How am I using my natural talents and gifts for the glory of God?  If we try to compare ourselves with others we will always come up short.

When we hoard or bury our gifts, they are taken away and given to others.  This could be financial gifts, spiritual gifts, talents, etc.  This is another way that we keep our lamp lit – allowing the God-given talents that we have to shine forth for the glory of God!  How am I using them to build up the Kingdom of God here on earth?

peace,

Fr. Burke

http://frburke23.wordpress.com